Editing Ali (film) (section)

=== Critical response ===
On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Ali'' holds an approval rating of 69% based on 154 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30/10. The site's critics consensus: "Though perhaps no film could fully do justice to the fascinating life and personality of Muhammad Ali, Mann's direction and Smith's performance combine to pack a solid punch."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ali | title=Ali | website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date=2025-03-05 | archive-date=2020-02-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221210111/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ali | url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ali Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ali|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-date=April 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412024440/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ali|url-status=live}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemascore.com/|title=Find CinemaScore|format=Type "Ali" in the search box|publisher=[[CinemaScore]]|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-date=January 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102130540/https://www.cinemascore.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] derided the film with two stars in his review for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', and mentioned, "it lacks much of the flash, fire and humor of Muhammad Ali and is shot more in the tone of a eulogy than a celebration".<ref name="Ebert">{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=Ali|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=2001-12-25|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011225/REVIEWS/112250302/1023|access-date=2008-01-15|archive-date=2007-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229094758/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011225/REVIEWS/112250302/1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine, Todd McCarthy wrote, "The director's visual and aural dapplings are strikingly effective at their best, but over the long haul don't represent a satisfactory alternative to in-depth dramatic scenes; one longs, for example, for even one sequence in which Ali and Dundee discuss boxing strategy or assess an opponent", but he did have praise for the performances: "The cast is outstanding, from Smith, who carries the picture with consummate skill, and Voight, who is unrecognizable under all the makeup but nails Cosell's distinctive vocal cadences".<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Todd|title=Ali|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=2001-12-16|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117916611.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0|access-date=2008-01-15|archive-date=2008-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004160841/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117916611.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[USA Today]]'' gave the film two and half stars out of four and stated that, "for many Ali fans, the movie may be good enough, but some perspective is in order. The documentaries ''[[a.k.a. Cassius Clay]]'' and the Oscar-winning ''[[When We Were Kings]]'' cover a lot of the same ground and are consistently more engaging".<ref name= "Clark">{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Mike|title=Despite hype, ''Ali'' isn't the greatest|work=[[USA Today]]|date=2001-12-31|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2001-12-24-ali-review.htm|access-date=2008-01-15}}</ref>

In ''[[The New York Times]]'', Elvis Mitchell proclaimed ''Ali'' to be a "breakthrough" film for Mann, adding that it was his "first movie with feeling" and that "his overwhelming love of its subject will turn audiences into exuberant, thrilled fight crowds".<ref name= "Mitchell">{{cite news|last=Mitchell|first=Elvis|title=Master of the Boast, King of the Ring, Vision of the Future|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2001-12-25|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/25/movies/film-review-master-of-the-boast-king-of-the-ring-vision-of-the-future.html|access-date=2008-01-15|archive-date=2022-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826141950/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/25/movies/film-review-master-of-the-boast-king-of-the-ring-vision-of-the-future.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[J. Hoberman]], in his review for the ''[[Village Voice]]'', felt that the "first half percolates wonderfully—and the first half hour is even better than that. Mann opens with a thrilling montage that, spinning in and out of a nightclub performance by [[Sam Cooke]], contextualizes the hero in his times", and concluded that, "Ali's astonishing personality is skillfully evoked but, in the end, remains a mystery".<ref name="Hoberman">{{cite news |last=Hoberman |first=J |title=Fight Songs |work=[[Village Voice]] |date=December 26, 2001 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/fight-songs-6396089 |access-date=2016-07-17}}</ref>

When Ali died on June 3, 2016, Smith was chosen to be one of Ali's pallbearers for the memorial service in Louisville.